13 Things You Didn't Know Your KitchenAid Could Do
When it comes to stand mixers, no brand does it quite like KitchenAid. Stand mixers are a key component of any serious cook's kitchen, cutting prep time and saving your arms and hands from endless mixing and stirring. With KitchenAid, there's no more holding a handheld mixer, glancing at your watch, and wondering how much longer you need to whip those egg whites; Start the mixer, set a timer, and scroll TikTok while you wait.
KitchenAid takes mixing and food prep to a new level. It's consistently ranked as one of the best stand mixer brands, selling millions every year. Watch any baking or cooking show and chances are you'll see a KitchenAid.
So, how did the brand become so universally loved? Its design, speed settings, and durability are all factors, but what puts KitchenAid above the rest is its versatility. All stand mixers have a variety of uses, but KitchenAid offers dozens of attachments and accessories, creating unlimited options. Here are some things you might not know your KitchenAid can do.
Knead bread to save time (and your hands!)
One of the most strenuous parts of making bread is the kneading (so, so much kneading). Kneading bread takes a lot of muscle, energy, and time, which not everyone has. Have no fear, KitchenAid is here to save the day. Most new KitchenAid mixers come standard with a C-shaped dough hook, but you can also purchase a spiral dough hook for your mixer. This attachment makes homemade bread almost effortless by continually pressing the dough into the bottom of the mixing bowl. Where kneading by hand can take nearly half an hour, using a stand mixer can do it in less than half the time.
KitchenAid also offers a bread bowl with a baking lid attachment that lets you mix, knead, proof, and bake your bread all in the same bowl. It's oven-safe up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, and the unique lid traps steam while the bread bakes for results similar to what you would get from a traditional steam oven. These attachments allow you to create virtually endless varieties of bread. Need some ideas? Check out some of our best bread recipes.
Roll and cut perfect pasta
Sure, store-bought pasta is usually cheap and easy, but there's nothing quite like fresh homemade pasta. Fresh pasta is often richer and more flavorful than dry pasta and has a more tender texture. Making pasta from scratch allows you to control the texture and taste, and it's never been easier with your KitchenAid stand mixer. Your KitchenAid can mix the ingredients, knead the dough, and roll and cut the pasta for you. KitchenAid sells a variety of pasta rollers and cutters, so you can make perfect pasta every time.
First, roll the pasta dough through the pasta roller attachment, adjusting the thickness to your liking. Then, cut it with one of the attachments, like the fettucini, spaghetti, capellini, or lasagnette cutter. If you'd rather have pasta shapes, KitchenAid also makes a gourmet pasta press attachment. This attachment lets you select from six pasta shapes: bucatini, fusilli, rigatoni, spaghetti, large macaroni, and small macaroni. You can also cut the pasta to your desired length with the press' built-in wire cutter.
If you like pasta but not gluten, then the vegetable sheet cutter is one of the KitchenAid attachments you need. This attachment allows you to create thin or thick sheets from a variety of fruits and vegetables, and the noodle blade slices them effortlessly.
Mill grains to the ideal consistency
Your KitchenAid stand mixer can knead dough and cut pasta, but you can take things a step further and use your stand mixer to up your baking game by milling your one flour. Flour is easy enough to get at the store, but making it yourself has several benefits. Homemade flour often retains far more vitamins and minerals than processed flour. It also gives you the option to choose whatever type of grains you want, and homemade flour can be more flavorful than standard flour.
To mill your own flour, you'll need KitchenAid's grain mill attachment. This attachment lets you mill grains and nuts like wheat, almonds, and rice to create a variety of flours. Simply load the grain or wheat berries into the mill and select how fine you want the grain ground, from a delicate, fine grind to a more coarse, cracked grain. Set a bowl below the mill to catch the flour, and keep adding grain until you have the amount of flour you want.
Once you're done, you'll be able to use the flour for bread, pasta, desserts, and other baked goods. Just be sure to use the right types of grains for what you're making. White flour is best for baking desserts; Wheat flour is better for breads.
Prepare produce of all kinds
Whether you're making veggie pasta, coring apples for apple pie, or creating the perfect veggie spirals, preparing produce can be time-consuming and a (literal!) pain. We've already mentioned that KitchenAid offers attachments for making veggie pasta, but before you can start cutting those veggies into sheets, you'll need to peel them first. While some produce, such as potatoes, is relatively easy to peel, others are a little trickier, especially for people with disabilities that make peeling fruits and vegetables difficult. That's where the spiralizer attachment with peel, core, and slice options comes in.
As its name suggests, this attachment peels, cores, slices, and spiralizes a variety of produce, including apples, carrots, cucumbers, potatoes, and zucchini. The spiralizer comes with multiple blades, allowing you to adjust the thickness and style to your liking. No more spending hours in the kitchen painstakingly peeling and coring apples. With this attachment, you'll be on your way to making an easy apple pie recipe in no time.
Juice fruits and veggies in a snap
In addition to perfectly prepping your produce, your KitchenAid mixer can easily turn fruits and vegetables into juices, sauces, purees, and more. Thanks to KitchenAid, there's no more squeezing for 10 minutes to get less than a teaspoon of orange juice, no more sticky counters, and no more messy hands.
From small limes to large grapefruits and everything in between, the citrus juicer attachment can tackle all types of fruits. It includes a strainer basket to catch seeds and pulp for a smooth drink every time. The juicer is tapered to strain directly into a glass or bowl. It's also easy to wash, which makes cleanup a breeze.
KitchenAid also offers a fruit and vegetable strainer accessory that works with the food grinder attachment (see below) and allows you to puree and strain fruits and veggies for baby food, jams, sauces, and more. The strainer catches seeds and pulp, reducing prep time and creating a smooth puree. The best part? All parts are dishwasher-safe.
Make quick and easy mashed potatoes
Mashing is one of the best ways to prepare potatoes. Smooth and creamy mashed potatoes are a staple of holiday meals and complement most dishes any time of the year. Thanks to KitchenAid, making mashed potatoes is easier than ever before.
To make mashed potatoes in your KitchenAid stand mixer, first choose your recipe. Not sure where to start? Check out some of our best mashed potato recipes for inspiration. You'll also need to decide if you want the skins on or off, and if you want the skin off, you'll need to peel the potatoes. Remember, the spiralizer can do it for you if you're having a hard time.
Cube and boil your potatoes, strain them, and place them in the bowl of your mixer. Depending on your recipe, you may want to add the butter before you start mashing. The flat beater that comes standard with new KitchenAid stand mixers, works great for mashed potatoes. However, the brand's pastry beater is another excellent option, and both will mash the potatoes without overworking them. If you prefer your mashed potatoes creamier, you can switch to the wire whip, another standard accessory, once the potatoes are mostly mashed.
Grind meat and other foods with ease
Meat grinders are an excellent way to prepare fresh meat for sauces, meatballs, and sausages There are a few different types of meat grinders available, some of which require you to manually crank the handle to grind the meat. This can be tiring and time-consuming and isn't accessible for everyone.
To make your life a little bit easier, KitchenAid offers the food grinder attachment. Simply choose between the fine and coarse grinding plate, load your food, and let the grinder take care of the rest. This attachment works for all kinds of meat, including beef, chicken, turkey, and lamb, but it also works for foods like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and squash. You can also pair it with the fruit and vegetable strainer to expand your options.
KitchenAid lets you take grinding a step further with its sausage stuffer kit. Grind your meat of choice, send it through the stuffing tube, and you'll have homemade sausage ranging from small breakfast links to large Italian sausages. With these attachments, you're bound to be a hit at the next neighborhood barbeque.
Your KitchenAid can act as a food processor
Food processors can slice, dice, shred, and grind all types of foods in an instant, saving you prep time and giving your hands a break from non-stop chopping. In some ways, a food processor is similar to a stand mixer. It's a tried-and-true appliance that has multiple functions for a variety of foods. KitchenAid combines these two appliances with its food processor attachment.
The basic food processor attachment can slice, shred, or julienne fruits, veggies, and cheeses. You can set how thin or thick you want ingredients cut, and the wide feed tube accommodates multiple food sizes to cut down on prep work. KitchenAid also makes a food processor attachment with a dicing kit that allows you to perfectly cut veggies for salsa or fruits for little hands, but whatever you use this attachment for, try to avoid these mistakes everyone makes with their food processor.
If your focus is on slicing and shredding, there's an attachment for that, too. The fresh prep slicer/shredder attachment is great for shredding cheese, but can also shred and slice cabbage, potatoes, and zucchini. It comes with three blades, so you can control the thickness for whatever you need.
Shave ice for a sweet summer treat
Is there a more perfect treat for a hot summer day than shaved ice? This classic dessert is made by taking ice that's been finely ground, almost like snow, and pouring a flavored syrup or cream over it. The topping can be store-bought or homemade, and common flavors include blueberry, cherry, orange, pineapple, and strawberry. The sheer versatility of shaved ice makes it a great option for parties and barbecues. However, there is one downside — grinding the ice.
Of course, you could use your food processor or blender, but this only allows you to prepare a little ice at a time and can lead to overgrinding it to the point of melting. However, the KitchenAid shave ice attachment easily creates light and fluffy shaved ice right on your countertop.
The shave ice attachment is easy to use. Simply load in your ice and let it do its thing. It works fast, making over a pint of finely shaved ice in 60 seconds, and comes with both a fine and a coarse blade. You can also get creative by swapping out plain ice for frozen juice, frozen milk, or other frozen dairy products to create unique and tasty treats. Need some ideas for flavoring? Check out our favorite fruit syrups for shaved ice.
Make ice cream in whatever flavor you want
Ice cream is another treat perfect for summer (or anytime, really). While there are plenty of delicious brands you can buy at the store, some aren't even real ice cream. Making your ice cream at home allows you to use real ingredients, and also lets you create flavor combinations you might not be able to find at the store.
There are several methods for making ice cream, but by far, the easiest is using the KitchenAid ice cream maker attachment. This bowl-style attachment makes thick homemade ice cream in less than half an hour. The only catch is you need to plan ahead by letting the ice cream attachment sit in the freezer for at least 24 hours before using it.
When you're ready, you'll need to whisk your ice cream base, which you can do with the standard bowl and metal whisk that come with your KitchenAid stand mixer. Then, swap the bowl for the ice cream attachment and the whisk for the flat beater. Turn the mixer on a low setting and slowly add in your ingredients, letting the mixer do all the churning and freezing. If you need some sweet ideas, check out these ice cream recipes to satisfy your sweet cravings.
Make whipped cream (without the arm aches)
Now that you have your homemade ice cream, you need something to top it with. Whipped cream is the perfect topping for ice cream sundaes, pies, brownies, and a range of other desserts. Store-bought whipped cream is fine, but homemade whipped cream will take your treats to another level. It's often richer, creamier, and more flavorful, and making it at home allows you to tweak the ingredients or add your favorite flavors.
To make whipped cream at home, all you need is a basic but foolproof whipped cream recipe, your stand mixer, and the bowl and metal whisk that came with it. Start by putting your bowl and whisk in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Once they're cold, add your ingredients to the bowl, attach everything to the mixer, and start whipping. Start on a low speed and gradually increase to 8 or 10.
The mixer will make whipped cream in as little as six or seven minutes. You'll know it's done when you see soft peaks forming. Be careful not to overmix because this will cause the liquid and fat to separate. If you've decided on any add-ins for your homemade whipped cream, like honey, citrus zest, or peanut butter, gradually incorporate those ingredients once the peaks have formed in the whipped cream.
Weigh and sift ingredients for exact amounts
Your KitchenAid stand mixer can knead dough, cut pasta, prep produce, and mix up all kinds of foods like mashed potatoes, whipped cream, and ice cream. However, KitchenAid has also made it easy to ensure that for whatever dish you're making, you're using the correct amount of ingredients and not making the same mistakes everyone makes when measuring.
The sifter and scale attachment for KitchenAid mixers includes a sifter for automatic, hands-free ingredient sifting, and a digital scale for precise measurements. Start by measuring your ingredients on the digital scale. Most American recipes use measurements like cups and teaspoons, but weighing is typically far more accurate. The scale can also be used separately on your countertop. Once your ingredients are at the proper weight, use the sifter to slowly sift them into the mixing bowl. Sifting dry ingredients leads to more consistent mixing and fluffier baked goods. The hopper for the dry ingredients can hold up to four cups, so you can even sift different ingredients together.
Additionally, KitchenAid offers a 3.5-quart glass bowl with measurements in milliliters and liters listed on the side. It's perfect for mixing wet ingredients and has a pouring spout that makes it easy to transfer your mixture to a pan or dish.
Coordinate with your kitchen and customize to your lifestyle
If you've ever walked past a KitchenAid display in a store, you've probably noticed that the mixers come in more colors than just standard white, but did you know hue is just one of many things you can customize on your KitchenAid stand mixer?
The customization tool on the KitchenAid website lets buyers choose exactly what they want for their mixer. Start by choosing whether you want a tilt-head or bowl lift-style mixer and bowl capacity. Next, you can choose from over a dozen colors ranging from dried rose to passion red to blue velvet to agave. You can also choose to add an extra bowl, additional attachments, and even have your mixer engraved.
If you've already purchased your stand mixer, you still have options for customization. KitchenAid sells several different bowl styles, including beautifully patterned ceramic bowls and stainless steel bowls in various metallics, allowing you to perfectly match your mixer to your decor and aesthetic.